It's a Wonderful Un-Life
by sinner316
Summary: It's the holiday season at AI, but that doesn't mean our heroes can catch a break. Angel is kidnapped and his memory is wiped along with anyone's memory of him. With his only memory being a woman's voice yelling his name, will he be able to find the one who it belongs to. The plot was given to me by a holiday fanfiction challenge. I don't own the character, Joss does. Please review
1. Chapter 1

"It's a Wonderful Un-Life"

Chapter 1

December 23rd

Angel sat at in the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel with a book in his hand trying to pass the time until their next case came along. It had been nearly a week since a client walked through the double doors or the Powers to send their champion a visions through his seer. The crew was getting a little restless. No complaints were heard from the employees of Angel Investigation for the first couple of days as they were enjoying the downtime, but as the silent couple of days stretched on, they began to grow weary of the preverbal "other foot dropping." When you fight evil for a living, you learn that nothing good ever really lasts.

Angel took a minute to study the other members of his team, really looking at them for who they were- his family. They each had a past they wanted to forget and were searching for somewhere to belong or with people to belong to. Angel felt himself exhale a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He noted that they belonged to each other now, fighting evil and protecting the innocent. He didn't know if it was this holiday season getting to him, but he found himself even more conscious of how these people, the people he now cared for deeply, had changed his life for the better. Before coming to LA, he just existed, but now, he found that he was actually living.

Peeking through the window into his old office, Angel spied Wesley, ex-watcher, now a not-so-rogue, demon hunter, busying himself cataloging demons into the codex he was authoring. Angel smiled at his friend, proud of him for putting his extensive knowledge of the supernatural world into use for other champions of good. Angel knew that deep down, Wesley needed this dream to become a reality to finally be able to show his father the ability he had to greatly influence the supernatural community apart from the Watcher's Council. Angel knew how it felt to have a father look down upon you and wish that they had had a better son, so Angel knew how important this endeavor was to Wesley. Angel admired his compassion for knowledge and often lent his artistic skills to recreate the demonic creatures and objects described on the pages of Wesley's forming literature. It was Angel's way of silently supporting his friend in his own quest to make his mark on the supernatural world.

Angel took his eyes away from the busy man scribbling notes on his notepad and looked to the street fighter across the hotel lobby from where he sat. Charles Gunn, proclaimed protector of the low-rent neighborhoods in LA, places where the cops shot first and asked questions later during the day and biting fiends snacked at night. Angel shook his head smiling as he noticed that Gunn was waxing the same axe for the second time that day. He got up from the couch and walked over to where they young fighter was sitting, polishing the massive battle axe.

"I've never seen a better fighter wield that axe, Gunn," Angel said coming up behind him and placing a hand on the man's shoulder. Gunn looked up at him with a devious smile on his face.

"A no better looking fighter, you mean," he laughed. " I don't know man. I mean, when I wield this baby against the nasties out there it doesn't feel like just a weapon to me, it feels like a natural extension of my arm." He twirled the axe in his hand and both men admired the beauty of its workmanship.

"Then I want you to have it, Gunn," Angel said, "Use it to protect yourself, our family and the innocents against whatever may come your way."

"Thank you, Obi-Wan," he smirked and looked into Angel's sincere eyes.

Gunn bowed his head to Angel as he walked towards the desk and whispered, "Thank you," knowing that Angel's vamp hearing would pick up on his quiet thanks.

Angel made his way to the reception desk and leaned on the counter making himself look busy by shuffling papers around in no certain order and pretending to read and organize all their personal calling cards on the table, but he couldn't help his eyes from finding _her._

Cordelia Chase. His best friend, seer, pain-in-the-ass, confidante, well you get the picture. Cordelia was a very beautiful woman with her long, chestnut hair down her back in silky waves, her olive skin highlighting her hazel eyes and a knock-out thousand watt smile, that would blind you if you stared directly into it for too long.

Remembering the night at the ballet, Angel knew that his feelings for his friend had only matured into something else- something even more special. Angel knew that the events that transpired that night were at the mercy of the spirits of two lovers and a deranged, homicidal wizard, but he couldn't help but think that maybe he was in a little more control of his actions than he let on. In retrospect, he hoped that may Cordelia was also in more control than she would admit. The night was very intense and maybe its what the champion and his seer needed to finally act on some deep seeded feeling they didn't know they had for each other.

After that night, the two of them laughed off the intense scene in the makeup room and silently accepted that nothing more was to be said about it. Not because they didn't have feelings for each other, but because neither one of them knew how to navigate such an important conversation without ruining their friendship.

Angel knew how important his friendship with Cordelia was and knew that he didn't want to risk it because of some silly fantasy where he was able to be with Cordelia, keep her safe and happy all at the same time. He couldn't risk losing her or her friendship and so he kept quiet.

Angel allowed himself to briefly imagine his life without his new family. What if he had never met Cordelia at that Hollywood party? What if Wesley had never became a rogue demon hunter? And what if Gunn never allowed himself to see past Angel's vampire state and get to know the man behind the fangs? He shuttered to even let the possibilities cross his mind. The feelings of loss and loneliness began to come to his mind and he had to shake it off before it took him to a new level of broodiness.

He remembered that night at the Hollywood party and smiled. Not too long after that, Cordelia had insinuated herself into his life and then all this craziness called life had started. Even though there was heartache, betrayal, and hurt feelings in the past, he wouldn't trade any of it away. It made them into the family they were. Angel allowed himself to steal another quick glance at his seer, but was surprised to find two hazel eyes smiling back at him. Taken aback by being caught sideglancing his best friend and seeing her warm smile, Angel knew that if he had a beating heart, it would have beat right out of his chest. He quickly looked away and busied himself again with re-stacking the papers on the hotel's reception desk.

Cordelia couldn't help but smile at the big dork. When she heard Angel approaching the front desk she managed to get a peak at him from her side. When she saw him smile, she turned her head completely to capture this rare moment in her head. Angel had a beautiful smile that made his whole face light up and send a thousand butterflies through Cordelia's chest. She loved how his smile made her feel and the changes to his face- eyes becoming shades lighter and the stress of the world draining from his face if for only a few moment's notice.

Cordelia briefly let herself imagine what thoughts were running through her champion's head to bring on that smile. She noted that it wasn't his dorky smile, but a small warm smile that made her toes curl. She knew it was his warm smile because it mirrored the same one she had been sneaking him unnoticed ever since that night at the ballet. Sure, ever since high school, Cordelia knew that Angel was an attractive man, but with him being a vampire, and a cursed one at that, Angel was firmly placed in the "no-bone section" of salty goodness. However, thinking of the night of ghosty persuasions, Cordelia found herself reliving the night she was in his arms, kissing his hard mouth and feeling his rough hands map her body's curves. She began to feel a little warm and had to shake herself out of her day-dreaming before she slobbered all over herself. When she again focused on her surroundings she noticed that Angel was watching her this time, smiling at her. She smiled back feeling a little rosy hue spread over her cheeks.

 _Thump!_ Both Angel and Cordelia jumped when they heard a slamming of a hard-backed book cover and the rustling of papers being filed away. Glancing at each other in confusion, they both made their way into the office where Wesley looked up in time to see them approaching.

"Sorry for the overly dramatic conclusion to my day, but I have come to a reasonably good place to stop in my writings and have decided that a nice cup of English-brewed tea is in order," he said giving them a winning smile only self pride and achievement could create. He got up from his desk and busied himself putting on his peacoat as Gunn walked into the office.

"Ima head out too, y'all," he said, axe in one hand and waiving goodbye with the other, "I wanna check up on my crew and make a sweep through the neighborhood." He grasped the axe with both hands and gave it a few quick swings. "There may still be some fanged Scrooges walking around tonight," he thought for a second, "Do demons take holidays?" he asked laughing.

The team said their goodbyes and Angel and Cordelia watched as Gunn and Wesley made their way toward the hotel lobby and out the double doors. Cordelia turned to Angel, smiled before squeezing his arm affectionately and headed towards her desk.

Bending down to retrieve her coat and purse from her desk drawer, Cordelia yawned, "Well, if it's all the same to you, Angel, I think I'm going to head out too." She sat her purse down on her desk and drew on her coat fastening the belt at her abdomen creating enticing curves to any male's eye. When she turned back to Angel she added with a laugh, "I told Dennis that we could watch a movie tonight before bed," she smirked, "It's sad, but it's all he has to look forward to, you know, being dead and all." She looked at Angel and threw her hand over her mouth and giggled, "Not that you don't have a life, Angel, I mean unlife…er, whatever you know what I mean."

Angel couldn't help but laugh at the beautiful woman in front of him. She was the craziest, sexiest, funniest, human he had ever been around and he was sad to see her go tonight. He felt his heart sinking as he realized that he would be alone for yet another Christmas in his long history of Christmases. Suddenly, Angel took a deep un-needed breath and took a step towards Cordelia. He took her hands into his and smiled down into her beautiful, questioning, hazel eyes.

"Cordy, we've been friends for a while now, and I don't know if you already have plans with your family or not, but if you don't, I would love to spend Christmas with you this year," he waited for her to say something, but she just stared at him, "I mean you don't have to if you don't want-" She placed her finger against his mouth and smiled her patented thousand watt smile.

"Of course I would love to spend Christmas with you, big guy," she laughed, "I'm not exactly planning on spending my holiday season with a bunch of folks that can't even call their daughter once or twice a year." She squeezed his hands in hers, "I would much rather spend it with my champion." She allowed herself to feel sorry for the way her parents treat her, but only for a split second.

"Hey!" she nearly shouted making Angel jump at the pitch of her voice, "Why don't we start our Christmas tonight?" She hooked her arm into Angel's and walked him out of the reception area and into the lobby. "Have you ever seen _It's a Wonderful Life_?"

At Angel's confused look, Cordelia hurried him to the door, grabbing his leather duster off of the couch and said, "Well, be prepared to ball your eyes out and never look at bells the same way again, Angel," she glanced at her watch, "Oh boy, we better hurry unless we want Dennis to burn the popcorn in revolt."

Laughing, both champion and seer exited the Hyperion into the lazy snowfall on a rare Los Angeles December night.

 _Somewhere high in the offices of Wolfram and Hart…_

Lilah Morgan sat on the edge of her desk, legs out stretched and her arms crossed sternly over her chest. For her plan to work, nothing could go amiss. They had one shot to please the Senior Partners or it would be her head served at the company Christmas party for dessert.

Her objective was to contain Angel in a secluded area so that the Senior Partners could align their other chess pieces into position to begin the apocalypse. Angel would be needed later on down the road in the plans of the Partners, but for now he was just a nuisance that needed some handling.

Lilah went over the plan in her head several times as she watched the mercenaries sign the brief contract with her employers. It was standard practice to have a 1099 on file for all their employees if they wanted to get paid. However, the administrative properties of her job were meaningless to Lilah and often made her edgy. Lilah was a woman of action- not one for paper work.

When the last man one had signed the document, Lilah stood up to her full height, straightened her pantsuit and looked over the document. Satisfied, she turned her attention to the group's leader.

"So, we are clear on the objective of your mission?" She received a nod from the leader and she continued, "Good. This is our only chance of getting Angel out of our way for the coming apocalypse. If my plan works, Angel will be too busy playing "who am I" that he won't have time to meddle in our affairs." She peered at the leader and his other men, carrying multiple weapons on their person and placed her hands on her hips.

"Just to be clear, the vampire with a soul is to be alive, or rather un-alive when you take him. The Senior Partners will still need him for the final battle later in the apocalypse, just not at this moment."

Deep in thought over the probability of her plan succeeding, she didn't notice that the men were still there silently watching her think and mindlessly bite her nails. Not liking to look vulnerable to anyone, let alone men, Lilah turned on her best bitch face and yelled, "Well, go!"

The men filed out of her office one by one, both eerily silent and deadly. It gave her chills and she felt briefly thankful that she wasn't on the opposite side of the contract. She turned her back towards the door as it closed behind the last one man and looked out her window viewing most of the Los Angeles skyline.

Lilah smiled an evil smile. "What will the Powers do without their champion, I wonder?" she asked out loud as she made her way to the liquor cabinet. She poured herself a scotch and before bringing it to her lips she whispered, "Merry Christmas, Angel."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 _A light snowfall drizzled down on the streets of Bedford Falls as the last of the Christmas shoppers busily hustled from shop to shop, gathering last minute presents to put under the tree for the next morning. Carolers were singing songs of Christmas cheer, their cheeks rosy from the cold air, but their eyes aglow with the spirit of the season._

 _Down the street, through the door of a little local bar, shoppers could here the shouts of "Merry Christmas to you, good sir" and "Have a Merry Christmas to you, my lady," being flung with merry from customer to customer._

 _However, one patron sat at the bar, alone, staring into the amber liquid filled glass with tears in his eyes. He could not look at these people with the same cheer in his eyes on this dreadful Christmas Eve._

 _George Bailey had lost everything. In a single moment of weakness, he had wished that he had never been born. Instantly he was thrown into a world where no one knew him and not a trace of his existence could be found. He had lost his loving wife, adoring children, and his beautiful home._

 _Overcome with his sense of loss, George began to pray, "Dear Father in Heaven, I'm not a praying man, but if you're up there and can hear me," his voice shook with the desperation for someone or something to hear him. He clasped his hands together in front of his face, "Show me the way." Tears fell from his eyes and washed over his cheeks as a pleaded with God. "I'm at the end of my rope," he cried into his hands, "Show me the way."_

Cordelia felt a thump rising in her throat as she watched George Bailey plead with God to show him they way. Cordelia remembered all to well how she felt back in high school surrounded by so many people and yet feeling all alone- like no one really knew her.

She looked down into the steaming mug of hot chocolate she held in her hands and thought about all the people that had made and impact on her life- good or bad. She couldn't fault any of them because they had made her into the Cordelia Chase she was today.

She looked to the vampire sitting next to her on the couch. He absent mindedly brought his cinnamon flavored blood to his lips and took a couple of gulps before he returned to the movie. If she wasn't mistaken, she could have sworn she saw a little moisture in her manpire's eyes. It made her stomach flip whenever she got to see the softer side of Angel.

Feeling two eyes on him, Angel turned to look at his best friend. Finding her absolutely stunning in her pajamas, curled up on the couch next to him, he let himself get lost in her eyes for a moment. When he realized she wasn't going to break the silence first, he sat his mug down on the table in front of him and turned so he face her fully.

"What?" he asked with a small grin on his face.

Wrestling in her mind whether to tell Angel what was on her mind…what the heck, she was Cordelia Chase! She always spoke her mind. Gathering a needed first breath, and placing her mug right next to Angel's on the table, she began her spiel.

"I was just thinking about poor George Bailey." She gestured towards the screen of the tv and felt her heart drop for the poor businessman. When Angel briefly took a minute to look on the screen and then returned his attention back to her, she continued her story. "I mean, how awful would that be to one day wake up and your whole existence be erased? Like everything you had ever worked for was for nothing?" She stared off into space in deep though, "I guess I just didn't realize how much we influence the people around us on a basic level each day."

Angel was about to speak when she placed her hand on his arm to silence him, "Take me for example, If I hadn't ran into you at that party a couple of years ago, where would I be now? _Who_ would I be, Angel?" She searched in his eyes for the truth of what she may have become.

Angel grinned, "On your way to inevitable stardom and somewhere along the apartment-hotel-hotel-husband timeline?" He chuckled at his own humor, but was rewarded with a slap of his forearm and an eye roll from his seer. When Angel composed himself, he looked into her eyes and saw something rare from his Cordy- vulnerability.

"Angel, before we met up in LA, let call it like it was- I was a stuck up bitch and I knew it," she quickly continued before he could speak. "Meeting you at that party and starting this business has allowed me to put other before myself, making a difference in the lives of other and finally forcing me to _be somebody_."

She grinned, showing her perfectly white teeth at him, "I may not be the reigning Queen C of Sunnydale High anymore, Angel, but I like who I am. I have you to thank for that, Big Guy." She squeezed his arm affectionately. Just when she was about to pull her hand away and make a joke to lighten the mood, she felt his strong hand over hers, trapping it into place.

"Cordelia," he croaked, now realizing that he had a large lump in his throat. He cleared it and squeezed her hand back. "I've been alive for roughly 250 years on this Earth. I had two modes with people: bite and avoid, but that was just existing- not really living." He looked into her eyes trying to convey his sincerity and all his emotions through his eyes, "I hid in the shadows of this world, kept to the sweres and dark alleyways, never letting myself be anything to anyone for a long time. Even when I was with Buffy, I wasn't really anything. I was so caught up in the female attention, I forgot what it felt like to really be loved and excepted." He smiled at her and he felt a tightening in his chest as he continued.

"And then you came along," he saw her blush a little and felt fireworks burst in his chest, "You had such a light in you, Cordy, a light that I so desperately needed and couldn't look away from." He intertwined their hands together, lacing there fingers together, seeing how small and fragile her hands were compared to his strong, masculine hands.

"I didn't know it at the time, but I craved your light. I had been so busy tring to make up for all that I had done as Angelus, that I forgot how to save myself, but there you were. Cordy, you were ready for me. Ready to pull me out of my self-flatuation and into your light. I wanted to thank you for that, Cordelia. It is the best gift I have ever received."

Perhaps the first time in her young existence, Cordelia Chase was speechless. No one had ever spoken about her, let alone to her face the way Angel just had. Every word pouring out of his mouth was genuine and sincere causing her heart to explode into a million tiny pieces. She was waiting for her body to melt into a seer-sized puddle at any minute now.

She pushed the stinging tears behind her eyes deep down before they betrayed her and made her eyes all puffy and ugly. "I guess I just never thought about how much have helped each other grow into who we are today, ya know," she giggled, "Not exactly in the best line of work to sit and ponder life."

Angel had to agree with her on that one. He grinned and squeezed her hands again, "Ya, but you what, Cordy? I wouldn't want to experience any of this with any other person."

Cordelia flashed him her thousand-watt smile and Angel felt a tug at his heart. A small voice in his head told him that this was his chance to really show Cordelia how he felt about her. The time was right. He had basically shared with her through his words how he felt, now it was time to show her in action. He carefully extracted one of his hands from her's and cupped the side of her face.

Cordelia's eyes closed as she leaned into his strong hand, letting him slowly lead her closer to his own head. Her mind suddenly began to swim. This was it. She was going to kiss Angel. Oh god, she thought. She licked her lips in anticipation, as she was getting closer to his lips. When he was pulling her fast enough, she took her other hand from his and cupped the nape of his next so she was mirroring his hold on her head.

Just before their lips touched, a loud crash was heard directly above them. Angel, with his vampiric reflexes, covered Cordelia from the raining glass showing down on them from where the window had been busted through. The last thing on her mind was that good things never lasted.

A couple of seconds passed once the shards of glass stopped falling and Cordelia found the courage to open her eyes. What she saw was Angel's large, muscled back to her as he stood in between her and whatever came through her living room window. A bit confused, she didn't remember Angel leaving the couch in the past couple of seconds, so she just chalked it up to one of his vampiric abilities.

Cordelia chanced a peak around Angel's bulk of a body and swallowed hard when she noticed that there was not just one, but six men in her living room. Each man was dressed all in black and carried multiple high-powered weapons on their person. While Cordelia knew the bullets couldn't kill Angel, she knew that they'd hurt like hell and they'd certainly kill her.

Taking a fighting stance, while keeping Cordelia protected behind him, Angel addressed the group. "I don't know what you're doing here or what you want, but if you value your lives, leave."

One of the men stepped forward, Angel assumed he was the leader, and pointed his gun at Angel. "There are two ways in which we can handle ourselves. We can either do this the easy way, or the hard way. Your choice vampire."

Angel smiled showing his vampire teeth as he allowed his true face to wash over him, "Why choose either when I know how this is going to end…with your death." He lunged for their leader before he was able to get a shot off and the chaos began.

Cordelia pressed herself against the couch dodging kicks and punches, praying that she would be forgotten in the blur of bodies. She watched as Angel took out three of the six men in black and even Phantom Dennis managed to take the fourth one out with a small potted plant smashed over his head. Cordelia was about to do a cheer for Dennis when she heard Angel gasp in pain.

Angel grabbed at his neck and felt a dart sticking out of his skin. Growling he ripped the dart out of his neck and started towards the man who got in the lucky shot. However, he didn't make it within a few feet of him when his vision began to blur. With his sense of balance heavily affected too, he began to feel himself sliding to the floor.

Cordelia threw herself off the couch, trying to get to Angel but was briskly pulled back when two large arms circled around her waist and pulled her against a solid, foreign chest. She kicked her legs out and swung her arms behind her trying to get the stranger to loosen his hold on her, but the man who had grabbed her had an iron grip on her. She yelled for Angel as she saw the light in his eyes dim. She began crying his name holding out her hands to him, hoping he could reach her and find strength in her.

Seeing Cordelia frightened for him angered Angel. He roared with his last bit of strength, urging his body to protect his Cordy and kill the bastard that dared to touch her. No matter how much strength he thought he had, he couldn't shake the heaviness of his body or the narrowing of his vision as he slipped into unconsciousness. The last thing her heard was Cordelia calling out his name between her sobbing.

Lilah sat on her ten thousand dollar couch, curled up in a blanket, next to a fire, and drinking a glass of Merlot when the phone rang next to her. Sitting her glass down on the table gently, she picked up the receiver and held it to her ear waiting for the voice on the other end of the line to speak.

"It is done," the voice said and hung up.

"Man of few words," Lilah said rolling her eyes as she set the receiver back on it's platform. She picked up her wine glass, downing the rest of the dark liquid in one gulp and got off the couch to head to bed. Her job was done for the night. With Angel out of the picture temporarily, the Senior Partners would be able to set the rest of their plans into motion. Lilah smiled. The annual Holiday Promotion was her's for sure.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 _December 24_ _th_

Cordy thrashed in her sheets as visions of breaking glass shattered around her. She cried out, reaching for someone she couldn't quite remember, realizing they were too far out of her reach. All she heard was…an alarm clock?

Her conscious pulling her out of the nightmare, Cordelia groaned as she pulled her arm out of the warm covers and felt around for the ringing clock on her bedside table. She laid in bed for a couple of minutes with her eyes closed thinking that maybe today she would call in at the office. She deserved a break, she thought. The visions certainly weren't polite guests in her brain and so every once in a while she needed a day to herself.

Chase Investigations was capable of running itself without her for one day, right? If the Powers sent her a vision on her day off, then she would ring Wesley and Gunn at the office and they would kill any nasty demons out there. That's how they did it at Chase Investigations. She saw the visions and the guys did the fight-y thing. What difference would it make if she told them face to face or over the phone? The outcome would be the same right?

Cordelia opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling before she let out a huge sigh and rolled her eyes. Who was she kidding? Wesley and Gunn were good in the field, but knew nothing about running an office. They didn't exactly have warm people skills and they seemed to have the incapability of filing any papers using Cordy's unique filing system.

Swinging her legs to the side of the bed, Cordelia threw off her warm, bed covers and stretched her limbs. "Well Dennis, it's like I always say, if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself!"

Dennis answered by turning on the hot water in the shower for her. Cordelia smiled, "Unless you have a ghosty roommate to do everything for you! Thank you, Dennis. I don't know what I would do without you." She climbed off the bed and headed towards the warming shower, confident that she would feel better once she felt the hot water washing over her skin.

Cordelia was right. The hot water was very soothing, relaxing her mind and muscles, but then reoccurring flashes of last night's breaking glass marathon decided to have re-runs in her head. Feeling distracted, thinking that she was somehow missing something…. or someone, time was quickly slipping away.

Fully clothed, hair perfect, and make up in place, Cordy finally gave up. She threw her hands on her hips, looked up towards the ceiling where she imagined the direction of the PTB was, and began tapping her foot annoyingly.

"Alright," she muttered, "If this whole _worry wort_ routine of mine is an aura to a vision, than cut the crap. Lay it on me, already." She tensed up waiting for the mind splitting headache with lava pouring in her skull pain, but it never came.

She opened one eye and then rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, and once again directing her annoyed hazel eyes to the ceiling. "Fine! Don't give me a vision when I'm in my own home and can flop and drool all over the place without any witnesses. Wait until there's a whole crowd to have pity on poor little Cordy." She threw her hands up in the air in mock defeat and turned towards the door. "Now where are my damn shoes!"

Striving quickly into her living room, searching for her favorite pair of pumps, Cordelia didn't notice the sharp piece of glass sticking out of the carpet until she felt a sharp pain rip through the sole of her foot.

"Ouch! Damn it!" she yelled, bringing her foot up so she could look to see what had nearly sliced her foot off. When she spied the broken glass, a look of confusion crossed her face. Where did this shard come from? Flashes of the visions from last night moved across her mind and an eerie chill ran over her.

Straightening up, she hopped on one foot into her bathroom to quickly clean up her wound and place a band aid on her foot. She couldn't remember breaking any glasses lately, but the more she thought about last night, the more aware she was becoming that she didn't have any recollection of coming home last night. To be honest, she couldn't even remember going to bed last night.

Now running very late, she shook her mind of the thoughts, chalking it up to too many visions and late nights at the office, she found her pumps, strapped them on and was out the door heading to see her best friends and start the day off right, well aware that she would be getting an earful from Wesley about being late. Pfft, she thought with a smile.

Men shouting over the loud noises of construction equipment stirred the man from his sleep. Waking from his slumber, his body began to shift against the cold, hard ground. His mind was going back and forth between the voice crying out in his subconscious and the voices yelling at the tip of his conscious. The voices were different from each other. Where the voices just outside his conscious were strong and deep, the voice he heard in his subconscious all night and even now, was frightened, feminine and somehow familiar.

Feeling a need deep inside to find the worried, female voice, the man used his arms to gently lift himself up into a sitting position against the wall. He carefully opened his eyes and squinted through the darkness. No windows or artificial light surrounded the room, but by some miracle, the man was able to see using his own two eyes perfectly. He saw every detail in the walls, every crack in the floor, and every steel beam in the ceiling.

He quickly made note of the door across the large room and prayed that it was unlocked. Picking himself off the ground, he staggered to his feet, wiping his hands on his black pants as he regained his balance. He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets when he noticed that they were cool to the touch. He quickly attributed that to being in a large, steel room, with a heavy draft of wind for God knows how long. All he knew was that his hands were cold, but it didn't seem to bother him at all. He had no chills, which was odd. Shouldn't his body be trying to generate heat to keep warm and…well…alive?

Sauntering up to the closed door, he placed his hand around the handle and turned it. It wouldn't budge. He tried it again. Nothing.

 _Of course_ , he thought sarcastically, _that would just be too easy_. He brought his ear up to the door trying to hear if anyone else was on the other side that could help him out and maybe give him some answers.

Just as soon as he concentrated on the sounds on the other side of the door, he ripped his ear away, overwhelmed by all the things he could hear. A man and a woman were talking about their busy lives, laughing with each other. He quickly noted that this wasn't the same female voice that kept ringing in his mind and put his ear back to the door. He heard cars honking angrily, lazy waves of water crashing against cliffs and the sounds of hammering and drilling in a nearby construction site.

He shook his head against the onslaught of sounds, bewildered at his hearing ability, almost wondering if any drugs were in his system causing him to have auditory and visual delusions. Humans were not supposed to have superhuman senses. That stuff was for the movies.

Wanting to get the heck out of the crazy nightmare, he started banging on the door, yelling for anyone to come and help him, but no one came. So, gathering all his frustration and anger, he gave it the ol' college try and rammed his shoulder into the door with every last bit of strength he had. It was one last effort to free himself.

Not expecting it to do any good and preparing to nurse a dislocated shoulder, he was shocked when he felt the door give way to his brute force and he found himself crashing to the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Cordelia sat at her work desk, legs crossed, clicking her pen as she stared across the lobby towards the staircase leading to the second floor of the hotel. Until now, she couldn't remember ever walking up the stairs to venture any further into the hotel's occupancies because the realtors had deemed it "uninhabitable." However, something in the back of Cordelia's mind was tugging at her to go up those stairs. She had tried to ignore the nagging in her head all morning, but the need to climb those stairs was overwhelming. She felt as though whatever she would find atop those stairs would somehow give her the answers she was looking for regarding this feeling of loss she had felt earlier that morning.

Wanting to get rid of the constant nagging, Cordelia threw down her pen onto her desk and pushed herself into a standing position, startling Wesley in his office. Wesley, startled from the brunette's abrupt movement, mistook the young woman's actions as a possible vision and rushed from his office, pills in one hand and a notebook in the other.

"Good gracious, Cordelia. Is everything all right? Did you have a vision?" he asked trying to hand the otherwise occupied brunette the pills, as Gunn too came to see what all the commotion was about.

Cordelia finally dragged her eyes to the genuinely concerned gentlemen in front of her and smiled, "Holster you guns, boys. A not-so-visiony, vision thing has me all in a funk." She looked at their combined confused faces and gave them a reassuring smile, "I'm fine. Honest. I just need to stretch my legs a bit, you know, maybe finally checking out the other floors to this place. After all, if some high salaried clients don't come walking in here all hopeless-like, then I'm going to need to move in here and call it a work expense." Shooing them away with her small hands, she started towards the stairs not looking back knowing that Gunn and Wesley were used to this sort of behavior with her.

Putting her hand on the banister before she took her first step up the staircase, Cordelia let her hand run across the beautifully crafted wood. It felt so natural in her hands, almost as if the curvature of the handrail was made for her hands. She felt as though she had walked these steps a thousand times, but Cordelia knew that she had never stepped foot any where in the hotel besides the lobby, office area and the kitchen on rare occasions.

She ascended the steps at a slow pace, preparing herself for what she might see at the top of the staircase. The hotel had been abandoned for years before Chase Investigations had moved in. They had to kill a pretty nasty demon that like to prey on people's insecurities before they called this place their home.

Sort of in a trance, Cordelia allowed her body to take her wherever it was going. As if by muscle memory, her legs took her down hallways, doors leading to rooms on either side of her finally coming to a stop at a door near the end of the hallway. She turned towards the door to her left and placed her hand on the door, seemingly drawn to the dark, cherry wood.

As soon as she placed her hand on the door, a whole slew of emotions overwhelmed her mind- love, happiness, peace, and belonging. She quickly thought that maybe her visions were manifesting as empathic abilities. She had met an empathic demon once, but it turns out he didn't have any feelings at all. He just wanted her eyeballs.

Cordelia took a step back from the door and looked at it as a whole. Had a family once occupied this room while the hotel was functioning? The feelings that were emanating from the room were ones of warmth. It made Cordelia's chest tighten and her breathing quicken. The feeling of loss once again surrounding her as she thought about that thing that she had somehow lost.

She began to fantasize about the lives that had passed through this very door. Families coming to the city for festivals and movies, business men on the prowl deals and money to be maid, single ladies traveling the world. Cordelia was almost jealous. Being a seer, fighting the good fight and keeping odd hours had a big impact on your social life it turns out- or rather, lack their of. She had to believe the _Mr. Right_ was out there for her. Maybe someday he would walk through those doors and sweep her off her feet.

Noticing that she hadn't moved from her spot in almost ten minutes, Cordelia decided to take a peak in at what lie on the other side of the door. She once again turned her attention to the door, a gold-plated "217" stuck at eye level. She grasped the handle in her fist, slowly turning the nob and stepped inside.

Momentarily taken aback, Cordelia just stared from the doorway. In front of her was a fully furnished suite. The realtors had mentioned that the upstairs rooms were scantily furnished with odds and ends that had been left during the vacancy, but what Cordelia saw before her could have been compelling evidence to show that someone actually still lived there.

Coming to that realization, Cordelia threw her hands on her hips and began tapping her foot, "I can't believe this!" she gritted, "We have a squatter! What's worse is that they're squatting for FREE!"

Looking around the beautifully, modest apartment, Cordelia's curiosity was peaked and she began making herself at home, rummaging through drawers, trying to find out more about their tenant. When she finally came across a dark, cherry wood armoire, she smiled.

"You can tell a lot about a person from how they dress," she mumbled to herself as she opened the double doors. To her slight amusement, Cordelia was staring at a whole lot of…black. "Not so found of the primary colors, I see," she said, laughing to herself. Black pants, black shirts, and even black boxers. "Well, I guess that answers the boxers or briefs question," she said raising an eyebrow. She had to give the guy props though; each shirt and pants were designer label. The man had good taste in clothing.

Reaching into the closet to feel the soft fabric, she quickly grabbed her head in a panic as a white, hot flash crossed her eyes and pain shot through her head. Cordelia fell to her knees cradling herself into a ball, sobbing. Seemingly hearing her own screams from a distance, Cordelia prayed that Wesley and Gunn would hear her.

What felt like forever to Cordelia, and mere minutes in real time, Gunn and Welsey came bounding up the stairs and found Cordelia shaking and sobbing on the floor of a well-furnished room.

Wesley immediately dropped to the floor bringing Cordelia into his arms, soothing her with words of comfort as her body slowly relaxed from the vision. He waited for her body to completely relax before he began questioning her.

Through tear-filled eyes, Cordelia recounted what she had seen.

"Theres a man," she said through hiccups, a small smirk shining through, "a tall, dark and handsome man." She looked up to see Wesley roll his eyes and she continued shrugging her shoulders. "Anyway, he's being chased by someone or something, I couldn't really tell." She closed her eyes binging the images from the vision for a second time into her mind. "He's at a warehouse, somewhere along the beach. I can hear construction as well."

Grabbing onto Wesley as he helped her to her feet, she looked at him, worry in her eyes, "You have to hurry, Wes, I don't think the guy has much time!"

Not willing to part with Cordelia until she had swallowed two pills and was sitting comfortably, Gunn and Wesley finally headed to the weapons cabinet filled their bags and headed out the door.


End file.
